Lampyridae (Coleoptera): A plethora of mollicute associations |
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| Authors: | K J Hackett R F Whitcomb J G Tully J E Lloyd J J Anderson T B Clark R B Henegar D L Roset E A Clark J L Vaughn |
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| Institution: | (1) Insect Biocontrol Laboratory, Plant Protection Institute, Agricultural Research Service, USDA, Building 011 A, Room 214, 20705 Beltsville, Maryland;(2) Mycoplasma Section, Laboratory of Molecuar Microbiology, National Institute of Alllergy and Infectious Diseases, Frederick Cancer Research Facility, 21701 Frederick, Maryland;(3) Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of Florida, 32611 Gainesville, Florida;(4) Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, 29742 College Park, Maryland, USA |
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| Abstract: | Beetles (Coleoptera) harbor many species ofAcholeplasma andSpiroplasma (division Tenericutes, class Mollicutes). Mollicutes were isolated from guts and/or hemocoels of firefly beetles (Lampyridae)
from the United States (Maryland and West Virginia), Ecuador, and Tobago. Firefly beetles were frequent hosts for the group
XIV spiroplasma, isolated from Ellychnia corrusca, and the group XIX spiroplasma, isolated fromPhoturis spp. The most unusual feature of the firefly-mollicute association is the carriage of four Mycoplasma species. Recent phylogenetic
studies indicate that these species are members of a clade that includes a vertebrate pathogen,Mycoplasma mycoides. The high rate of occurrence ofMycoplasma species (which are, otherwise, infrequent in insects) in lampyrid beetles suggests that the association is significant. The
unusual light-producing physiology of lampyrids (which is dependent on large pools of energy) and the production of large
amounts of cardenolides from cholesterol (a critical growth factor for many mollicutes) may favor colonization by mollicutes.
Offprint requests to: K. J. Hackett. |
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